Allen and Unwin, 2009. ISBN
9781741757107.
(Ages 12+) With her grandfather dead,
Bo lives alone in
an abandoned opal dugout with her roboraptors, eking out an existence,
keeping
clear of outsiders, protected by a perimeter of landmines. She strives
to remember
all the things he told her, because they mean her very life. But when a
landmine explodes, she knows someone has broken the perimeter and so
takes her
roboraptors out to investigate. She finds a young boy, who, like her,
has to
keep his wits about him to survive. He has been held by a brutal group
of men
and trained to do tricks on motorbikes as they tour the outland
settlements.
Together they form an uneasy bond, Callum telling her about the city
where he
once lived, and Bo telling him how they will survive.
Their journey takes them on a strange path,
avoiding other people, but one encounter has them captured by an older
man,
who, discovering Bo is a girl, strives to keep her with him. Their
escape lands
them in further trouble, as Callum, convinced that he will find his
fathers
when they get to the city, takes them into this broken place. There the
Festers
take them as their own, but they too are captured and Bo, once her sex
is
discovered, is taken into a more secret space where the few women are
kept.
A scary look at a future where society has
splintered into disparate groups and most women have been wiped out by
disease,
Murray displays a society which is tangible and credible.
The remnants of other times are still there,
giving the reader a solid base of reality on which to judge the new
society,
while the behaviour of those they meet are real enough to be plausible
and very
frightening. With hints of Mad Max,
and Z for Zachariah,
the story is
original and involving, with two very
strongly delineated main characters, and I can see it working well as a
class
novel with middle school students.
Fran Knight
Hate that cat by Sharon Creech
Bloomsbury, ISBN 9780
747599807. 2009.
(Ages 8-12) Following the success of
Love that dog,
Creech has developed another story in verse form,
set after Sky's death. Jack is in his old teacher's class again and
Miss
Stretchberry who loves poetry, asks the students to create a poem after
telling
them about metaphors and imagery and alliteration and onomatopoeia
through the
poems they read in class. Each of these words is modeled in the words
Jack puts
down on the page. He has an uneasy relationship with his Uncle Bill, a
poetry
teacher at a college, who insists that poems must rhyme and that what
Jack is
writing is not poetry.
But Jack persists. He tells the reader about
some of the poems they read in class, TheRed Wheelbarrow by
William Carlos
Williams, The Eagle by Alfred Lord
Tennyson and The Bells by Edgar Allan
Poe, and these are emulated by Jack throughout the novel. As the story
progresses, Jack tells how he hates cats, and is shocked when his
teacher
brings in her kittens. Little by little Jack's attitude to cats changes
as he
has more to do with the kittens and when his parents give him a kitten
for
Christmas, he is happy. A cloud appears however when the door is left
open and
the kitten escapes, only to be returned by the old stray who lives in
the
neighbourhood.
A delightful story, imbued with some well
known and not so well known poems, this little book will be a hit with
primary
teachers looking for a model to use with their students. Students will
easily
fall for Jack and his dislike of cats and grow with him as he finds
that they
are not so bad after all. The modeling of the styles of poetry of
Myers,
Williams, Poe and Tennyson is a lovely touch, making their poetry more
accessible to the young audience but also giving a neat way of teaching
poetry
in the middle primary to lower secondary classroom.
The last 20 pages of the book are filled with
the poems talked of, including some by Jack, and the last 4 pages has a
list of
the poetry books kept in Miss Stretchberry's classroom. Both make a
most useful
addition to the book.
Fran Knight
Lock and key by Sarah Dessen
Penguin, 2009. ISBN 9780141324944.
(Ages 14+) Recommended. The test for me for a really good
story is when I reach the end of a book
and
feel bitterly disappointed that I'm not continuing to follow the paths
of the characters
that I have gotten to know so well, and when I know that I will have to
reread
the book because I loved it so much. Lock and key is one such book.
Ruby has been abandoned by her alcoholic
mother and manages to survive for several months on her own. When her
landlords
discover that she is living in squalor by herself, Social Security is
brought
in and she is sent to live with her older sister Cora and
brother-in-law Jamie
in their luxurious house. Ruby is an independent girl who has built up
many
defences to ensure that she isn't disappointed by abandonment, and it's
tough
for her to break down these barriers, make friends and perhaps allow
love into
her life.
Sarah Dessen is an author who has a wonderful understanding
of teenage girls, relationships, family and friendship. She manages to
sympathetically
delve into the life of Ruby, almost 18, who is determined that she will
make it
on her own, when she can legally leave her sister's house. I was
engrossed as I followed Ruby's path,
gradually
letting some people into her life and making tentative friendships and
the
beginning of a romance with Nate, the amiable boy whose philosophy
about
adversity in life is that Uswim.
Ruby has a school project to complete about what it is to be
a family and Dessen explores how diverse the meaning of family can be
and how
it means different things to different people and how it is always
evolving. By
the end of the book, Ruby has come to understand the complexity of the
family,
from a large supportive one like that her brother-in-law has, to the
single
parent one brought on by divorce and abandonment. She has begun to care
about
people and to tentatively trust some friends, and the reader has grown
with her
on the way.
The themes of family, domestic abuse, friendship and trust
are beautifully handled. Dessen is an author whose books I will
actively seek
for their compelling writing and deft touch with relationships.
Pat Pledger
The Land of Mirthful by Sally Morgan, Ambelin, Blaze and Ezekiel Kwaymullina
Walker
Books, 2009. ISBN
9781921150784.
Stop Watch: Book 2,
(Ages 7-9) Each of the
second markings on the stop watch
Tom's
grandfather has given him is the gateway to a different world. As the
book
begins, Tom and 'Bilby' are headed a mission, set by Grandpa, to 'a
funny and
sunny place' to find Finglethorn Underwood. Mirthful's rightful Queen,
Jeromarni, and her family have disappeared and the self appointed Queen
Mavis
has taken over. Things are not as they should be and all appears to be
doomed.
The task of the heroes is to restore the Queen to her throne and save
the kingdom
of Mirthful.
An easy read novel, with traces of C.S. Lewis's
Narnia and
Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom, this series could provide a
simple
introduction to the fantasy genre. The double spacing makes it readily
accessible to younger readers and there is enough action to make the
story
appealing. With sixty second markings on a stopwatch, this could prove
to be a
very long series! Given that Bilby, the Bridalon, was transported back
via the
first doorway and Tom allows him to take the bird back with him, the
question
arises as to whether or not there will be a stowaway from each of the
lands.
There will undoubtedly be many readers keen to continue on with the
series,
although possibly it may hold more appeal for the boys.
Jo Schenkel
60 classic Australian poems for children edited by Christopher Cheng
Ill. by Gregory Rogers. Random House Australia, 2009. ISBN
9781741664140.
(Age 9+) Recommended.
'Hist! Hark!
The night is
very dark,
And we've to
go a mile or so
Across the
Possum Park.'
Did
Australian rhyming verse really lose its appeal or do we just need new
editions
to replace the tired poetry books in our libraries? The second scenario
is the
more likely. Children are still enthralled and delighted by the drama,
humour
and wit of poems by such writers as C.J. Dennis, Banjo Paterson, Henry
Kendall
and Henry Lawson.
Christopher Cheng
recalls the pleasure of reading and reciting Australian verse as a
child. He has
chosen 60 poems for a hard cover volume which is aptly named. Adults
will
recognise most of the titles and remember many of the opening lines by
heart. Award
winning artist Gregory Rogers has provided the pencil and wash
illustrations.
The editor
has restored lines which are often omitted because they speak of the
hardships
of life in the past. He has also included brief 'Poet biographies', an
'Index
of first lines', an 'Index of poets', a list of sources in which the
poems were
first published and occasional notes about the history of the poems.
Most of the
collection dates from the turn of the last century. It encapsulates the
best of
a tradition of storytelling through the medium of performance poetry.
Christopher's
Cheng's book will help to ensure that the tradition lives on.
Elizabeth Bor
Feather and bone by Laslo Strangolov
Walker Books, 2009. ISBN 9781406316005.
(Age 12+) This very strange novel poses some very
challenging issues,
not the least of which is human flesh as meat for a starving community.
Kamil's father has disappeared in the woods
and his mother has become a shadow of her former self. Kamil now has to
walk Solace the dog each
morning and evening. People do not go
into the woods after dark for an unknown fear pervades the community.
The poacher's daughter Lori and Kamil become
involved in the mysterious business of the former poultry farm around
which
rabbits fit to burst live. It's a dark
tale with Mr Petri centre of the darkness.
It's not a tale for the light hearted and the black and white
sketches
add atmosphere to the tale. As Matt
Whyman says in the forward 'The book in your hands is a curious
discovery. It has been penned by an author
with a life
story as odd and compelling as the tale to follow' pv. As Alice said,
'Curiouser and curiouser'. Not
for the faint hearted.
Sue Nosworthy
Interview with Gabrielle Williams by Fran Knight
1. I admire the way no pat answers
to central problems
are given. Many adolescent novels are just so predictable in giving the
easy
answer. So why did you change the formula?
I think formulas are lazy - unless you're a scientist,
in which case they're very clever. I wanted to write a book that was
true to
itself, not something that had to be shoehorned onto a pre-existing
formula. I
think that teenagers are pretty savvy and will pick up quite quickly if
something
is being cynically written to a formula in an attempt to appeal to
them. So I
got rid of all vampires in my novel.
2. Reading
this novel made me feel like I was in
Melbourne, my second favourite city, so just how real are the settings
used?
Your second favourite city!!! What the hell! Which
one's your first?
3. How
hard was it to avoid using the sexual relations
between young adults of this age as a platform for the story?
I think that sex is only one aspect of any
relationship - it's important, but it's not the sole reason to be with
someone.
I wanted my characters to be with each other because they connected on
an
emotional level as well as a physical level. To have one without the
other is
to be out of balance.
4.
Have you an ear for language? I found many of the
sayings and shorthand sayings and responses so recognizable from kids
in the
street. The omigods made me laugh out loud. So where do you hear this
language?
Here's the secret - I eavesdrop a lot. In cafes, on
public transport, wherever I am, whoever I'm with, I'm usually
eavesdropping in
to the conversation that's happening at the table next to me. Is it
something
I'm proud of? No. Is it a handy habit to have? If you're an author, yes.
5. The
emphasis on words and their meanings, the wit
involving words and their meanings and usage were thrilling. How well
do you
think this emphasis will be received by today's young adults?
I think teenagers and young adults today have a very
witty way with words. They twist the language so that it is colourful
and
memorable, and I love that about them. Admittedly their spelling leaves
a
little to be desired, but the fun they have with words is skillful, so
I think
they'll love the word plays in Beatle Meets Destiny.
Questions from Pat Pledger
6. What
were your favourite books as a child?
When I was a kid I loved Enid Blyton and Agatha
Christie. I think my ideal book would have been one in which The
Saucepan Man
did it!
7. Have you
got any books that you could recommend to
your readers?
I recommended the Tales of the City series by
Armistead Maupin to my daughter who is 19, and she loved them because
of their
colourful characters and interwoven plots. Also, The Child's Book
of
True
Crime by Chloe Hooper is great and Hi Fidelity by Nick
Hornby. And
The
Lovely Bones is brilliant.
Beatle meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams
Penguin, 2009. ISBN 9780143011491.
(Ages 13+) Recommended. Beatle, so named because his name is
John
Lennon, meets Destiny at a tram stop in Melbourne one Friday night. She
is
attracted to him because of his name, he to her because she is wearing
sunglasses at 9 pm. So begins an off relationship, as they skirt around
each
other, sensing each other's interest. But Beatle already has a
girlfriend, one
who he cherishes, although their relationship is not what it was. A
smart funny dialogue between the 2 is kept
up throughout the book, as Williams gives vent to some of her dislikes
of the
deterioration of the spoken word.
Destiny's family is obsessed with tarot
cards and horoscopes, the paranormal and
coincidence, so her day always begins with readings to start the
journey. Her
brother, Frank a teacher at the local school, is seen by Beatle with
his own
sister, Winsome, and struggles with the information as Frank teaches
them both
in their year 12 English studies class. Someone is ringing Destiny and
one night she has her underwear
stolen,
and much of the evidence falls on Beatle. Meanwhile their relationship
is in a
vacuum, as Destiny finds out about the girlfriend, and thinks Beatle is
two
timing them both. Destiny has answered an ad in the hope of making
money, and
her sister, Matilde has taken a chair found on the side of the road for
hard
rubbish collection.
A load of believable characters, mixed up
with each other and their friends, wonderful scenes where things happen
which
are not outlandish or contrived, wrapped up with some smart dialogue
and very
funny word play, make this a great read for middle secondary students.
Word jokes, plays on anything to do with the
Beatles, mockery and repartee all add to the fun in this story. It is
refreshing to read a book where the usual cliches of boy meets
girl do not
happen, where all the scenes are fresh and new, and where things are
discussed
which are relevant and involving.
Fran Knight
Confessions of a liar, thief and failed sex god by Bill Condon
Woolshed
Press, 2009. ISBN
9781741664546.
(Ages
14+) Bill
Condon has set this coming of age story in the 1960s. Australia is
involved in
the Vietnam War and the country is still deeply conservative. Neil is
in
his final
year at a Christian Brothers school in Sydney, a year that will see
many
changes for this boy on the cusp of manhood.
Neil's
life revolves around his family; Dad, Mum and brother Kevin, and his
best
friend Troy, who is always up for a dare and is afraid of nothing. Some
of the
certainties of life that Neil has known begin to crumble. Troy shows
he's just
as vulnerable as anyone else when he steals a wallet and allows Zom
(short for
Zombie), a quiet unassuming classmate take the blame. Zom shows a very
different side to his character when he declares his innocence and
punches the
much feared Brother Michael right in the middle of the quad.
Zom
is not only expelled from school but ejected from home as well and has
to live
in a small flat with his sister Sylvia. Neil, feels no great friendship
for
Zom, but thinks he's been treated very harshly because of Troy's
actions. Zom promises
to get back at Brother Michael while Neil finds Sylvia very attractive.
Things
get worse at school with the arrival of a new lay teacher, Delaine, who
introduces himself on the first day by giving the whole class six cuts
with the
strap just to show who's boss. But
Troy
is singled out for special treatment and cries when he goes back to his
seat. This wouldn't have been so
bad if Neil hadn't seen his tears and loss of face. On the way home
just as
they've said goodbye Troy is hit by a car and killed. Neil lies to the
police
and says Troy was his usual happy self.
It
seems that it's the beginning of a series of lies to his family, Zom
and
Sylvia. When he sees Sylvia to thank her for saving him from drowning
(even
though it was Zom that saved him) things go further than either of them
had
planned. He also discovers that Zom is going to act on his plan to seek
revenge
on Brother Michael. Neil tries to talk him out of it and even persuades
Zom
that he'll try and sort it out with Brother Michael. But there is no
change in
either the attitude of Zom or Brother Michael.
The
results aren't those expected but there are resolutions. The problems
of the
protagonist seem enormous and earth shattering, but life does move on.
Things
are not as bad as they seem. Conlon has written a book that will appeal
to a
wide audience, but particularly boys of middle school age. It's an easy
read
and a compulsive one at that.
Mark
Knight
Bang, bang, you're dead by Narinder Dhami
Corgi, 2009.
(Age: 12+)
Highly recommended. Mia and her twin
brother Jamie have much to contend with. Their mother suffers from
bipolar
disorder and refuses to seek help. When the twins' beloved grandfather
dies
their Mother's condition spirals out of control. Mia copes as best she
can, but
Jamie, filled with anger and resentment, seems to be going off the
rails. Then
one morning Mia's school is subjected to a siege and she is convinced
that the
crazed gunman holding class 9D hostage is her own brother. Mia
discovers depths
she never knew she had in an effort to reach Jamie and end the siege
peacefully.
This is a tense,
smouldering novel that switches between past and present to gradually
reveal
the events that have set Jamie on this disastrous path to self
destruction.
However all is not as it seems and from the start Mia continually
doubts
whether the gunman is actually Jamie.
Would her beloved twin brother really be capable of such evil?
Just as we are
nearing the explosive finish Dhami lifts the whole plot to a higher
plane with a
superb twist that makes the reader re-evaluate everything they have
just read.
With believable
characters and fast moving cinematic action, this is first class
writing that
will grip you round the jugular and leave you both exhausted and
exhilarated. I
always find it a challenge to suggest an age range for a novel, as
twelve and
thirteen year olds vary so much (just as forty year olds do I suppose!
However, with the bleak subject matter of
major
depressive illness and a school siege you may want to recommend this to
older
readers.
Claire Larson
The hunger games: Catching fire by Suzanne Collins
Scholastic, 2009. ISBN 9781407109367.
(Ages 13+) Recommended. After the thrilling first book in
the series, The hunger games, comes an equally riveting action
driven
sequel. Catching fire follows the story of
Katniss and
Peetar, as they return victorious to their village. Life has changed
for them.
They are no longer hungry and living in poverty. Katniss finds it
difficult to
settle down. She still continues to break the law and hunt illegally
for food
for her friends and is torn about her feelings for Gale, her hunter
friend, and
Peetar. When she inadvertently becomes the focus of a rebellion in
Panem,
things begin to hot up for her and she is faced with going into the
Arena again
to fight to the death.
Although some of the action scenes feel a bit like a rerun from the
first
novel, they were still exciting enough to keep me reading and certainly
on edge
for the sequel. The romantic interest seesaws between the two young
men,
Peetar, who often appears to be too good to be true and Gale who has
had a thin
role in the action.
However Katniss is a most appealing heroine - she is brave and loyal to
her friends. Her daring feats in the Arena and her encounters with the
evil
President kept me on the edge of my seat and I can't wait to see what
will
happen next.
Pat Pledger
The last knight by Hilari Bell
HarperTeen, 2007.
ISBN
9780060825058. A knight and rogue novel.
(Age:
12+) Chosen as one of ALA's
2009 Best Books for Young Adults, The
last knight is a hilarious story about Sir Michael, bent on doing
chivalrous
deeds, even though the idea of the knight errant is years out of date.
He has
acquired for his squire the criminal Fisk, saving him from the
hangman's rope.
On their quest to rescue damsels in distress, they release the Lady
Ceciel who
has been imprisoned in a tower. However, in their impetuous rush to do
daring
deeds, they don't investigate just why she is imprisoned and find to
their
horror that she has been charged with poisoning her husband.
Told in the voices of both Sir Michael and Fisk, the reader sees the
story
unfolding from different points of view: Sir Michael is an idealistic
optimist
while Fisk has a cynical viewpoint of life in his role as 'squire to a
hero'. The
contrast between Michael who never lies and Fisk who is a conman, leads
to many
laughs. The humour is laugh out loud delightful as the pair blunder
from one
disaster to another, trying to work out the mystery of Lady Ceciel and
the
intricate workings of Magica, the magic of sensing things.
Both Michael and Fisk are likeable characters, and Lady Ceciel is a
most
satisfying villain. Even the horse, Tipple, who likes to have a drink
or two,
provides amusement.
In amongst the chaos of their adventures, the pair begin to trust each
other
and learn a great deal about friendship, loyalty and honour. This is
the first
book in the series and I look forward to following the adventures of
the knight
and the rogue.
Pat Pledger
Marsh Island by Sonya Spreen Bates
Orca Echoes, 2009.
ISBN 9781554691173.
On their first ever camping trip with their
father, Jake and
Tommy go exploring. Jake is annoyed at having his younger brother tag
along and
needing to entertain him. As they venture further from camp, they
become lost. When
they see a stranger in the woods, Jake's bravado disappears; they cut
their
adventuring short and race to trace their path back to camp. Is he the
mysterious Alfred Marsh, the man whose story has been revealed by their
father,
and is there truly a lost fortune?
This novel would suit several audiences. It could
work as
either a text for emergent readers who wish to read not-too-scary
adventure
stories themselves or reluctant male readers in the middle primary
looking for
something short to hold their attention. Written by a Canadian author,
now
living in Australia,
and containing a similar setting to the Hatchet series, the tale is
short and
simply told. Bates has worked in speech pathology with children with
communication disorders. Both the number of pages and the vocabulary of
this
text indicate that the series should be easily accessible to younger or
struggling students. The full page illustrations match the text and
could be
used to support the reader as they set the scene and create atmosphere.
Jo Schenkel
The Magician's Elephant by Kate diCamillo
Candlewick
Press, 2009. ISBN 9780763644109.
(Ages 9+) Highly
recommended. This
beautifully written fable, the story of Peter,
brought up by an old, befuddled soldier, but all the time dreaming of
his
sister, will tug at the heart strings of all readers. Peter's mother
died at
the birth of his sister, and he remembers holding the baby and
promising his
mother he would look after her. But the soldier, an army friend of his
dead
father, reminds him that his sister was still born. Peter cannot shake
off the
idea his sister is alive, and when a fortune teller comes to the town,
he uses
the florin given him by the soldier for their meager tea, to ask the
fortune
teller about his sister. He is told she is alive and will find her
through an
elephant.
This
extraordinary piece of news, the first of many
extraordinary things which occur through this story, has Peter reeling
at the
news that an elephant has dropped through the ceiling of the local
opera house,
causing pandemonium. The magician who conjured the elephant has been
thrown
into jail, and when Peter visits the elephant, he is touched by her
sadness of
being separated from her family. So Peter acts, bringing all the
protagonists
together in a final act which sees the elephant returned, the magician
released, Peter and Adele reunited and both the children with a loving
family.
A superbly
told story of imaging the unimaginable, of
hoping against all hope for your dreams to come true, this is one of
those
stories that will pass from hand to hand, rarely left on the
shelves.
Fran Knight
The loblolly boy by James Norcliffe
Allen and Unwin, 2009. ISBN 9781742371160.
(Ages 9+)Recommended. What would you do if you were
desperately unhappy and were given the opportunity to soar away using
beautiful
green wings? The loblolly boy can fly wherever he wants and has eternal
youth. He
also has the power to Exchange - to swap places with others who are
Sensitive
and can see him. But why would he want to change identities with
children who
are often very miserable? These children soon discover that there is danger flying
above
the earth and that there are many things they miss from their old lives.
A unique and original fantasy, complete with adventure,
magic and appealing characters, this is a tale that was hard to put
down. The
first chapter sucked me in with its grim portrayal of a young boy who
has lost
his mother and has to deal with a very unpleasant stepmother, and went
on to
tantalise me with the story of Michael who had been left in a home for
abandoned children.
The descriptions, particularly of flying, are beautiful and
will fire the imagination of the reader. Thought provoking and often
scary themes
of identity, freedom, immortality and whether the grass is greener on
the other
side of the fence are challenging and the action driven plot engrossing.
Pat Pledger
